# Unpop roundup! 2022

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/go-time-golang-software-engineering/unpop-roundup-2022
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/go-time-golang-software-engineering/unpop-roundup-2022.md
Podcast: [Go Time: Golang, Software Engineering](https://stenobird.com/podcast/go-time-golang-software-engineering)
Published: 2024-10-09T19:30:00+00:00
Episode link: https://changelog.com/gotime/334
Audio file: https://op3.dev/e/https://cdn.changelog.com/uploads/gotime/334/go-time-334.mp3
Processing state: processed
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/go-time-golang-software-engineering/episodes/unpop-roundup-2022
Duration seconds: 2279

## Resource

A retrospective review of the most controversial and unpopular opinions shared by the Go community throughout 2022. The hosts rank and debate everything from language proposals and cloud infrastructure to CSS and database design patterns.

## Highlights
- Main idea: The debate over the 'try' proposal and its impact on Go error handling ergonomics
- Practical takeaway: Prefer using timestamps over booleans to maintain richer data context in databases
- Failure mode: Relying on manual task tracking and status messages instead of automated systems
- Engineering lesson: Automation should only be applied to processes that are already mastered manually
- Technical debate: The friction between developer experience and the complexity of modern public clouds

## Topics

Go programming language, Software engineering, Cloud computing, Error handling, Database design, Automation, Developer experience, CSS

## Chapters
- 1:00 — The friction of public clouds: A discussion on why traditional public cloud deployment can be overly complex for individual developers.
- 6:45 — The toxicity of status updates: Why constant 'what is the status' messages are a major productivity killer for engineering teams.
- 12:25 — Automation vs. Manual Mastery: The importance of understanding a process manually before attempting to automate it with software.
- 17:50 — The lost 'try' proposal: Reviewing the community's desire to bring back the 'try' proposal for better error handling in Go.
- 23:35 — CSS as a programming language: A look at the controversial opinion that CSS is evolving into a full-fledged programming language.
- 34:45 — The meta-unpopular opinion: A humorous look at the futility of Twitter polls and the nature of community voting.

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## Transcript

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